Henry Boot makes positive start to 2018
Henry Boot has reported a strong start to the year, with its land promotion, property investment and development divisions putting in a solid performance for the first five months of 2018.
The construction company said that despite the poor weather conditions experienced earlier this year, the financial performance of its construction and plant hire businesses remain in-line with expectations.
Hallam Land has a strong pipeline of sales opportunities which are expected to conclude in the remainder of 2018 but Henry Boot said there is some uncertainty with regard to the timing of these deals within a particular financial period.
Hallam Lanf concluded land sales totalling over 1,841 plots on 12 sites, and has also unconditionally exchanged on two further sites and are in detailed discussions regarding the sales of a further 15 schemes which are expected to complete later in 2018 and 2019.
The total portfolio of land promotion sites is now 170 covering over 13,500 acres with a further 29 sites, over 2,000 acres, expected to be brought into the portfolio subject to the completion of due diligence and legal agreement.
In property investment and development, the largest two schemes the company is working on are the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, which is now a little over halfway through its development and remains on course to be completed by mid-2019.
Meanwhile, the forward funded 539 unit build to rent redevelopment of the former Manchester Metropolitan University Campus site in central Manchester is also progressing on programme, targeting delivery of the first phase of residential units in 2020.
The company said it has also exchanged a number of new, long-term, joint venture agreements covering large business and industrial park development sites in Sunderland, Taunton, Enfield, Wakefield and Preston, totalling over 500 acres.
Henry Boot’s jointly owned house builder, Stonebridge Homes, is trading well and is targeting sales of over 120 units in 2018, up from 79 units in 2017. Reservations and sales to date are consistent with achieving this goal.
The construction and plant hire businesses have been “slightly affected” by the poor weather conditions experienced in the first part of the year, but the company said it has worked to ensure that the financial performance remains in-line with expectations.
The plant hire business, Banner Plant, reflecting slower UK construction activity in the first quarter of 2018, was slightly down on a 2017 like-for-like basis through the first quarter. However, the improved weather conditions have seen higher levels of activity and Henry Boot said it expects the business to achieve a similar result to 2017 for the full year.
Henry Boot said Road Link (A69) Limited, its PFI contract, was also impacted by the adverse winter weather, resulting in some incremental cost of repairing the road. The work has now concluded and the contract is trading in-line with previous years and management expectations.
“Given the good start we have made in 2018, and anticipating no major changes to the underlying UK economic conditions, we expect the group’s performance for the current financial year ending 31 December 2018 to be in-line with the board’s expectations,” the company said.
